The future of Greece's egalitarian & # 39; – warns a scientist – Newsbomb – News

Hundreds of countries in the world, including Greeceone-third of the land with high potential risk is threatened with desertification.

That's what they say A, which defined June 17 as a global day of awareness raising.

"Desertification is a huge threat, especially for the Mediterranean," he told the Athenian-Macedonian Agency. Christos Zerefos, academic. "This knowledge comes from both forecasting models for the next 70 to 80 years and the past," he said. As he recalls, the first to describe this phenomenon was Aristotle in his work "Meteorological". "One wonders how the Sahara has been deserted, and that refers to a major climate change for the mechanisms he is questioning," he said.

The numbers also indicate how By 2025, more than 1.8 billion people will face the problem of total water scarcity, while two-thirds of the planet will live with the depletion of stocks.

They also note how desertification will cause more deaths than any other natural disaster and because of this phenomenon, more than 135 million people will be forced to leave their homes.

See the numbers that cause horror:

If there is a significant difference with the past, it is the speed at which the phenomenon manifests itself. And in this dizzying speed, the man plays a primordial role. "The characteristic of human destabilization is that this destabilization occurs in a very short period of time – in the past, this change began and ended over thousands of years," Zerefos told ANA. -MPa.

"We know today that there has been a long period of drought in the copper age, which, according to some scholars, has lasted thirty years and, according to others, even Three hundred is the period during which the Dorians descended from the north and occupied Argos and Mycenae to change the course of history, "said the distinguished scholar.

Eastern Peloponnese, occupied by the Dorians, is now considered high risk. All the Aegean islands, as well as parts of Central Greece and the island of Euboea, as well as Thessaly, Macedonia, Thrace, as well as Central and Southeast Crete from Crete, are still in the red.

Returning to the past, other known drought periods began around the year 100 or so, while another was recorded in the medieval era. "More recently, in the 1970s, a new drought began in North-West Africa, which unfortunately continues to this day, and in this region we welcomed the first ecological refugees, while Savannah desert has spread due to drought, "said Christos Zerefos in REA-MPA.

"We know that the water table in North Africa is coming down and that water tables such as Pharan, on the Sinai Peninsula, once dumped water on the ground – and I remember when I She was child – she is now more than 20 meters deep.The fact that this change occurs during the life of a person means a lot.The climate has always changed.But the human intervention has increased these changes and that is why we are seeing these phenomena, "he added.

According to him, man is responsible for 30% to 35% of climate change. "If we do not do anything for a while now, it will be 70% and 80%," Zerefos said.

What is desertification?

Desertification is the result of a soil degradation cycle that transforms fertile soils into sterile soils as a result of overexploitation by intensive agriculture, exploitation of forests for wood and timber purposes and overgrazing. Thus, desertification is not specifically mentioned in deserted or arid areas, but in the consequences of excessive use of Earth's resources.

From the food we eat to the clothes we wear and the houses we live in – all come from the pores of the Earth.

Desertification is recognized as a global phenomenon affecting the livelihoods of 900 million people. five continents and accounts for a third of global threats to biodiversity.

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, celebrated on 17 June, aims to raise public awareness of land degradation and to draw attention to the implementation of the Convention on Human Rights. United Nations fight against desertification.

This year's World Day to Combat Desertification highlights the importance of cooperation for the restoration of degraded lands and contributes to the overall goals of sustainable development, which include the goal of achieving a neutral world for land degradation by 2030.

By 2045, some 135 million people could be displaced by desertification.

What causes desertification?

Desertification occurs when:
– The wood and the cover of the plants that bind the soil are removed for some reason.
– Trees and shrubs are removed for firewood and lumber, or to clean the land for cultivation.
– The animals eat the greens and erode the ground with their hooves.
– Intensive cultivation depletes nutrients in the soil.
– Corrosion of the air and water aggravates the disaster by removing the soil from the plants and leaving behind an extremely sterile mixture of dust and sand. The combination of these factors turns the degraded land into desert.

Impact of desertification
The issue of desertification is not new: it has played an important role in the history of humanity, contributing to the collapse of several great empires and the displacement of local populations. It is a global and timeless problem that has serious consequences for biodiversity, ecological security, poverty eradication, socio-economic stability and sustainable development.

Desertification in numbers
– About 2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture, but 52 percent of land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by land degradation.
– Due to drought and desertification, 120 million acres are lost each year (230 acres per minute). In one year, 20 million tonnes of grain could have grown.
– 74% of the poor are directly affected by the degradation of the planet.

The biodiversity
– Of the 8,300 known animal breeds, 8% disappear and 22% may disappear.
Of more than 80,000 tree species, less than 1% have been studied for potential use.
– More than 80% of the human diet is provided by plants. Only three cereal crops – rice, corn and wheat – provide 60% of the energy intake.
– 80% of people living in rural areas of developing countries depend on traditional herbal medicines for their basic care.

Desertification and poverty
About two billion people depend on terrestrial ecosystems, 90% of which live in developing countries.

What can we do?
Reforestation and regeneration of trees
Water management – economy, reuse of treated water, rainwater harvesting, desalting or direct use of seawater for salt-loving plants
Soil stabilization with sand enclosures, shelters, wooden frames and wind turbines
Enrichment and over-fertilization of the soil by planting
The farmer manages natural regeneration (FMNR), allowing the natural vegetation of tree growth to selectively cut down the shrub shoots. Residues from the shredded layer can be used to produce field mixing, thereby increasing soil water retention and reducing evaporation.

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